This invention relates to a method of making agglomerated cellulosic particles, especially adapted for use as an animal litter.
Commercially available cat litters frequently contain clay. Clay litters have disadvantages in that they are heavy, dusty, and stick together in the bottom of the litter box after use. In addition, because clay litters have low absorbency, cat urine tends to pool on the bottom of the litter box and creates an odor problem as bacterial growth increases.
In an attempt to overcome the disadvantages of clay litters, other commercially available cat litters are made from cellulosic materials such as newsprint and alfalfa. These products contain water-soluble binders and are produced by extrusion and pelletization of the extrudate. However, such products also suffer from disadvantages. In particular, during use the pellets swell and break apart, resulting in a mess in the litter box. Also, these products are dusty in spite of the presence of binders because the exposed ends of the pellets are not protected by a hardened skin.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a particle, especially useful as an animal litter, which is light, substantially dust-free, absorbent, easy to clean up, and which wicks away free liquid and allows absorbed moisture to evaporate to mitigate bacterial growth. It is a further object of this invention to provide a particle having other uses such as a floor sweeping material, a packing material, a mulch, or a carrier for other material such as scents, disinfectants, germicides, or the like.